Taken in 1957, trains of huge “ladle” cars carrying molten slag from the refinery at Coppercliffe, Ontario,Canada, and dumping them into a rocky ravine-type valley. Pretty much the same as lava flows from a volcano. The photo was taken with a 35mm. Exakta Varex camera using Ektachrome film(not the high-speed type), with quite a long exposure to try to get as much of the flow as possible. I’m only posting it because I thought it might be of interest to some of you.Not a sight that you could see in very many places. The slide was scanned at 4000dpi with a Canoscan 4000US scanner.

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Comments

I goofed again. Forgot to hit Send.. getting senile, Stan! The slag dumping was one of the local “attractions” back then. Quite spectacular really. When the cars dumped there was a blast of heat that came across the valley, like opening a huge oven.

Very interesting image George – when the BHP was still in operation here in Newcastle, there were often reports of explosive noises coming from the site where they dumped the slag. Great shot.

Yes, there were various noises when it was dumped, I think mostly caused by gases within the slag popping out as it cooled. I’ve heard the same thing on TV shows about volcanic lava flows, which the hot slag resembled. I debated about posting it, but I thought it would be a bit interesting.

Thanks, I thought you might be interested, being a bit of your local history. This was taken way back in 1957.

– George Cousins

atomhaveover 5 years ago

This is an amazing shot! Very nice work, especially without the benefit of digital! Instant fav!

Many thanks Aaron. Not only was it film, but no tripod..I remember setting the camera on the hood of the car and trying to keep it steady. I think the exposure was around a second or two, so not too difficult. Digital would have made it easier.

Wow that is a great shot George. To me, it’s a haunting image of people, walking. It could be a primitive cave painting. Fascinating!

Hi Sarah..so interesting to look at something through another’s eyes..now that you mentioned it, I agree, you can visualize people walking, different pacing, different postures..thanks for making me see it do differently!